Members of the Salina Airport Authority's board of directors tour ongoing construction projects. The board checked out improvements to Pump House 305, Hangar 606 renovations, North Ramp utility line construction and the construction site for the new state of the art aircraft rescue and firefighting station.

On the Flightline

Construction workers remove pavement in preparation for infrastructure improvements to the north ramp.

This $3.8 million project supports current Airport and Airport Industrial Center businesses and our future growth.

Construction project at the Salina Airport and Airport Industrial Center hit full stride

As we near the end of 2011, construction work at the Airport and Airport Industrial Center has hit full stride with seven projects valued at more than $8.8 million underway or getting started. The scope of work ranges from airfield improvements that will offer immediate benefits to utility line work that will support job growth for decades to come.

KSLN pilots will benefit from a new PAPI being installed at the approach end of runway 35. The new approach aid will be commissioned for use this month.

Hangar 606 renovations have started and will continue through the early part of 2012. This $2.5 million dollar project will enable the Airport Authority to offer an update to date 50,000-square-foot hangar to interested MRO companies.

The City of Salina is well underway with the installation of new water mains, sewer lines and fire protection water lines. This $3.8 million project supports current Airport and Airport Industrial Center businesses and our future growth. The utility line improvements will support the future construction of more than 500,000 square feet of new hangar space at the SLN Aviation Service Center.

Key to the safety of all airport users is the construction of a new airport fire station. The $2.5 million project is funded, in part, by a Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program grant. Construction starts this September and will be completed by June 2012. The new fire station will enable Airport Authority and City of Salina firefighters to provide second to none service to pilots and the public at the Salina Airport.

Without key partners these projects would not be possible. The City of Salina, the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have all participated in the steps of planning, designing and funding vital growth projects at the Salina Airport. Their support and assistance makes the Salina Airport and Airport Industrial Center a focal point of economic growth for our community, state and nation.

Tim Rogers, A.A.E.

Executive Director

Salina Airport Fire Station construction is set to begin

Sep 30, 2011 - Tim Rogers, A.A.E. signs the contract to officially begin construction of a new state of the art aircraft rescue and firefighting station.

Contract documents for the Salina Airport's new aircraft rescue and firefighting station have been signed and construction is set to begin by mid-October.

The Salina Airport's new 10,000-square-foot, $2.5 million fire station will serve aircraft owners and pilots for decades to come. Airport and City of Salina firefighters will operate from a state of the art facility and offer vastly improved fire service to airport users.

The new fire station would not be possible without the contributions of numerous firefighters who have supported both military and civilian aircraft operations since the airport's WWII days. Firefighters who have protected the airport over the years have worked out of less than ideal facilities. The new fire station will be at the best possible airport location for quick responses and provide firefighters with much needed training space.

Once completed the new Salina ARFF station will be dedicated to the efforts of the firefighters who have provided for the safe operation of aircraft at the Salina Airport, Smoky Hill Army Air Base and former Schilling AFB. There has been the presence of aircraft firefighters at the Salina Airport and its military base predecessors since 1942. Seventy years later a truly modern and efficient fire station will house today's firefighters who carry on the tradition of service to pilots and their passengers.

Circa 1940s hangar prepares for new century

As Hawker Beechcraft continues to pull out of their currently leased facilities, the Salina Airport Authority continues the growth and development of the Salina Airport Industrial Center through renovation and construction.

Hangar 606 is a circa 1940s hangar recently vacated by Hawker Beechcraft that will undergo a $2.5 million remodel.

"We're making it a brand new interior," said Kenny Bieker, manager of facilities and construction. "We're keeping the exterior appearance close to its original 1940s look."

This remodel will not only restore much of the hangar's historical value, it will update the 50,000 square-foot-hangar and make it more marketable to maintenance repair and overhaul companies and special military aircraft.

"The third possibility is a forward operating location for visiting military units," he said.

Medina Construction has already begun remodel and will continue though the early part of 2012.

PAPI installed on Runway 35

Kenny Bieker, Salina Airport Authority manager of facilities and construction checks on construction workers as they install PVC pipe to run electricity to the new PAPI on the approach end of Runway 35.

A new precision approach path indicator is currently being installed at the approach end of Runway 35.

The ground work for the PAPIs has been completed and the PAPIs themselves are waiting to be installed then flight checked by the Federal Flight Services before being commissioned.

They are expected to be commissioned by the end of October.

Utility construction underway at SLN

The City of Salina is well underway with the installation of new water mains, sewer lines and fire protection water lines.

This $3.8 million project supports current Airport and Airport Industrial Center businesses and our future growth. The utility line improvements can support the future construction of more than 750,000 square feet of new hangar space at the SLN Aviation Service Center.

"They are right on schedule," said Kenny Bieker, manager of facilities and construction."We are removing pavement to open the way for the installation of waterlines and sewer lines and a new fire main."

With these improvements, existing facilities will have a better supply of water to meet fire protection demands.It will also make way for expansion of the Salina Aviation Service Center.

"It will open the way for any large tenant that would like to come in and build," he said.

In partnership with the City of Salina, the Salina Airport Authority paid for the design and the City funded the construction.

The zombies are coming! Are you prepared?

Envision this: Hordes of walking corpses roaming the landscape with only one goal - to kill and devour the living.

It is, of course, a nightmare scenario straight out of a Hollywood movie, but what if it were real? Would you be prepared?

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, that is the question posed by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management during October's Zombie Preparedness Month, part of a national campaign to encourage the public to take an all-hazards approach to preparing themselves for tornadoes, floods, fires, hurricanes, terrorist attacks and other disasters - including zombie attacks.

"If you are prepared for a zombie attack, you are prepared for anything," said Devan Tucking-Strickler, KDEM Human Services officer. "No matter what the disaster, the preparations are the same: make an emergency kit that will allow you and your family to survive for a minimum of three days until help can arrive, devise a home emergency plan and practice it so that everyone knows what to do if a disaster strikes - even zombies